Accelerate! With Andy Paul

Babette Ten Haken is the author of Do You Mean Business? Technical, Non-Technical Business Collaboration, Business Development And You. In this episode, Babette discusses the challenges of melding sales and technical resources to effectively and efficiently win new business. She describes how the future of sales will belong to the hybridized seller who can effectively combine sales and technical strengths to help buyers meet their objectives. And, Babette talks about the steps that sales teams and sales reps must take to develop these strengths in order to maintain relevance to their buyers. If you are a CEO, business owner, sales leader or sales rep, you should listen to this show!  

Jeff Beals is the author of Selling Saturdays: Blue Chip Sales Tips From College Football. Imagine a sales situation in which there are only 100 prospects in the entire country that fit your ideal customer profile. And, imagine that you have at least 30 competitors fighting tooth and nail to win the order from those same 100 prospects. That's sales environment that big-time college football coaches face on a daily basis competing to win a commitment from 17 year old athletes to attend their school. In this episode, Jeff Beals shares with you the very real lessons you can learn about sales, including focus, planning, commitment, intensity and competition, from the coaches that walk the side lines on Saturdays. If you sell in a highly competitive market, then this show is a must listen!

Jim Keenan, otherwise known as Keenan, is A Sales Guy, a widely read blogger and the author of a new book, Not Taught: What It Takes to be Successful in the 21st Century that Nobody's Teaching You. In this episode, which is Part 2 of my extended conversation with Keenan, we talk about his new playbook for success in the 21st century. He describes how the conventional career rules that we all have been taught, have become obsolete. It doesn’t matter which generation you’re part of or what stage of your career you’re at, if you’re not listening to Keenan’s recommendations for taking charge of your own success, then you’re going to fall behind. This is a must listen episode.

My regular guest on front line Friday is Bridget Gleason. Bridget is the key of corporate sales at SumoLogic. On this episode, Bridget and I talk about five common sales objections and how to work with the buyer to get to yes. We also dive into the subject of trust; why it's essential to take the steps to quickly build trust with prospects and help critical buyers first perceptions of you are in that process.

Townsend Wardlaw is a sales transformation architect. In this episode, he talks in depth about the fears that paralyze many sales reps and provides effective strategies they can use to overcome them to transform their sales results. Townsend describes the common rationalizations that sales reps use to justify inaction in the face of their fears; whether it is fear of prospecting, fear of presenting or fear of asking for the order. He talks about the lessons he learned overcoming his own paralyzing anxieties of public speaking, and how you can use them in your own selling. Everyone in sales has fears about some aspect of selling. But they don’t have to hold you back! You definitely want to listen to this episode!

Adam Honig, is the Founder of Spiro Technologies. In this episode, Adam talks about the need to provide sales reps with real-time data-driven insights and actionable recommendations they can use to boost their productivity. He describes how CRM systems are perceived by sales reps to be “command & control” systems for management, not a productivity tool for them. And, he provides an introduction to a new generation of sales productivity tools, including his own product, Spiro, that have specifically been designed for use by sales reps to help them increase win rates and deal size. This is a must listen episode for sales reps and managers

Joanne Black is the best-selling author of No More Cold Calling and Just Pick Up The Damn Phone!  In this episode, Joanne describes why sales reps must commit to making referral selling their primary prospecting outreach. But it's not as simple as just asking for referrals. Creating a predictable flow of referrals is a skill that needs to be learned. In this episode, Joanne details the essential steps required to build an effective referral selling system, and the necessary reinforcement coaching to successfully integrate it into your selling. As Joanne explains describes in our conversation, if you’re not building the relationships and expanding your network, referrals won’t happen. If you’re a CEO, entrepreneur, sales leader or sales professional you need to listen to this episode.

Jim Keenan, otherwise known as Keenan, is A Sales Guy, a widely read blogger and the author of a new book, Not Taught: What It Takes to be Successful in the 21st Century that Nobody's Teaching You. In this episode, which is Part 1 of my extended conversation with Keenan, we talk about his new playbook for success in the 21st century. He describes how the conventional career rules that we all have been taught, have become obsolete. It doesn’t matter which generation you’re part of or what stage of your career you’re at, if you’re not listening to Keenan’s recommendations for taking charge of your own success, then you’re going to fall behind. This is a must listen episode. And come back next week and listen to Part 2 of our conversation.

My regular guest on Front Line Friday is Bridget Gleason. Bridget is VP of Corporate Sales at SumoLogic. On this episode, Bridget and I talk about a variety of essential sales topics for sales leaders: why it’s important for sales leaders to celebrate the small successes; the importance of helping sales reps develop patience; how to develop and maintain a positive attitude; why sales reps need to physically practice every sales interaction before they talk to the prospect; and, how sales reps can become better listeners. Be sure to listen to this episode today!

Todd Schnick, is the founder and CEO of IntrepidNow Media. He learned about accelerated sales and marketing strategies from his experience as a senior political operative and campaign consultant in the front lines of some of the most competitive campaigns ever. (Think “hanging chads”). In this episode Todd talks about the steps required to sell a candidate, which takes place in a very compressed period of time, and how it relates to selling your product or service. He provides a fascinating look at the process campaigns use to identify the ideal customer profile, conduct in-depth discovery of customer needs, construct and test a compelling message, and effectively qualify and communicate with the right prospects. And he shows how it all relates back to selling your product or a service to crazy busy prospects who are pressed for time. You definitely want to listen to this episode.

Nancy Munro is the Founder/CEO of Knowledge Shift. In this episode, Nancy talks about the impact that the quality of your speaking voice makes on a prospect. She discusses research that demonstrates that prospects are making judgments about your trustworthiness and credibility just by hearing you say the word “hello.” Kind of scary, isn’t it? Successful selling is about paying to detail. And one detail you can’t overlook is how you are perceived by your prospects. Nancy describes not only how you can assess your voice, but also how you can control how you use your voice to influence the outcome of a sale. She also describes the tools and technologies that are available to help you with all of this. If you’re in a customer-facing sales or service role, then you definitely must listen to this episode.

Dan Waldschmidt, is the best-selling author of Edgy Conversations, and President of Waldschmidt Partners International. He is a dynamic, inspirational and motivational thinker who forces you to examine how you set about succeeding in your work and your life. In this episode, Part 2 of an extended conversation, Dan, a record-setting ultra-marathon champion, talks about how to build the necessary confidence to succeed in life, and in sales, by setting outrageous goals and achieving them. It’s not enough to be good. You have to be great. Dan shares his secrets to achieving these goals through his concept of mastery. And he shows how this mastery extends to being a success in every aspect of your career and life. If you’re a CEO, entrepreneur, sales leader or sales professional you need to listen to this episode.

My regular guest on Front Line Friday is Bridget Gleason. Bridget is VP of Corporate Sales at SumoLogic. On this episode, Bridget and I talk about how the sales profession, and the demands that are placed on salespeople, are continually changing. We discuss the steps salespeople must take to adapt to these changes and achieve consistent sales success in the 21st century. Many of the old rules for sales and salespeople are being thrown out. What are the new rules? Make sure to listen as we talk about what modern sellers and sales managers are doing to create differentiation and position themselves as trusted advisors that co-create value for their buyers. You’ll want to listen now!

Karen Dietz, author of “Business Storytelling For Dummies”, is a master storyteller and presentation coach. In this episode, Karen talks about how she turned her PhD in folklore into a successful business career, by helping leaders, entrepreneurs, and sales people, increase their impact, influence and income with the power of storytelling. She relates how stories help you develop better, more sincere relationships with prospects and how stories can deliver unique value that help prospects make the decision to buy from you. Most importantly, Karen provides a simple 5-step framework, using her acronym CHARM, which enables any salesperson to easily structure and tell a story that delivers the maximum impact. Do you want to learn how to use stories to win new business? Then make sure to listen to this episode today!

Etai Beck is CEO and Co-Founder of Folloze. In this episode, Etai discusses how you can deliver value to your prospects by responsively providing the right content at the right moment at each stage in their buyer's journey. He talks about tools you can use to create compelling narratives for your prospects that helps them understand in greater depth exactly what value the solution that you're selling is going to provide. Etai also shows why it’s essential for you to understand how buyers engage with your content and to mine insights that enable you to quickly and effectively respond to the help the customer move closer to making their choice. If you’re a sales leader, or have responsibility for sale enablement, you’ll want to download and listen to this episode.

In this episode, Tibor Shanto, principle of Renbor Sales Solutions, pokes holes in the outdated sales notion that buyers are trying to fix “pain points.” He discusses why 75% of buyers that switch vendors are satisfied at the time they switched, and, the dramatic implications that this has for how you need to sell to your prospects. How many times have you heard the “we already have a solution” objection? Then, absolutely, you’ll want to listen as Tibor reveals his GAP methodology for discovery and questioning that inspire and motivate buyers to break from the “status quo.” This is essential listening for every sales rep and sales leader! Download and listen to this episode. And, play it in your next sales meeting!

My regular guest on Front Line Friday is Bridget Gleason. Bridget is VP of Corporate Sales at SumoLogic. In this episode, we use an article titled The Death of the Salesperson as the jumping off point for our discussion about the future of sales and the changing role of the sales person. Will there still be salespeople in 10 years? With today’s prospects becoming ever less reliant on the salesperson, Bridget and I identify the challenges that all sales reps face in the battle to remain relevant to their customers and what that means in terms of the responsibilities that sellers must assume for their own professional and personal develop. You’ll want to listen as we delve the concept of value co-creation and what that means in terms of how sellers must collaborate with their prospects during their buying process. And, learn how this trend specifically will impact the next generation of sales people: Millennials. Make sure you join us for this episode!

Elinor Stutz, is the bestselling author of two books, including, Nice Girls Do Get the Sale – Relationship Building that Gets Results. In this episode, Elinor discusses why sales techniques are not a substitute for understanding why you've been invited in for a conversation with a potential customer in the first place. Elinor lays out why selling with integrity, consciously putting the prospects’ goals and needs first, and leading with questions that demonstrate an understanding of their situation are the best ways to collaborate with them on their buyer’s journey. You’ll definitely want to listen in as Elinor shares her story of how her most effective discovery question has helped her become a top sales producer (but not before it got her into trouble first!).

My regular guest on Front Line Friday is Bridget Gleason. Bridget is VP of Corporate Sales at SumoLogic. On this episode, Bridget and I focus on the process of hiring quality sales reps for high velocity sales teams. We discuss the specific challenges managers face in quickly scaling sales teams. We provide advice about how to accurately define positions and work roles to attract the right candidates. And, we discuss how to develop an effective process for interviewing and verifying the qualifications of the potential candidates. If you’re hiring sales reps, or you’re a sales rep looking to be hired, this is an important episode to listen to.

Matt Hill, founder and CEO of The Hill Group, is a leader in training companies how to sell at trade shows and conferences. He’s worked with some of the biggest names in tech to help them turn trade shows into productive sales events. In this episode, Matt describes the steps companies should take to develop a sales plan for a trade show. And, he provides valuable strategies and techniques that every company can use to provide a better customer experience for booth visitors, develop and qualify more leads on the show floor and implement an effective process for following-up leads (both during and after the show). This episode is a must listen for sales or marketing leader who wants to earn a better ROI on trade shows.